To say this legislative session was disappointing as it relates to good government issues would be a tragic understatement.

At a time when the federal government is encouraging states to step up and be more involved in their governance, if you believe the intent of the current administration, our state has absolutely abdicated its responsibility to strengthen our democracy.

To be clear, while the majority party is primarily responsible for this, certain members of the minority party are just as guilty of paying lip service to their constituents as their majority counterparts. We must call out the legislator as one voice regardless of party.

The fact of the matter is we are all getting played. I will not mince words with this.

Prior to this session Common Cause backed a good-government package of bills that were seen as low-hanging fruit. Examples include automatic voter registration legislation. This bill would increase ease of registration for our young adults, our elderly, and disabled communities.

Also, with AVR, day-of registration wouldn’t be as needed. It would also help to cut down on long in-person lines.

But, even with no appropriation attached, the bill went to the House Finance Committee where Chair Kyle Yamashita refused to hear it despite overwhelming support.

Do not think Mr. Yamashita was done there, because he most certainly was not. Next up was a bill that would ban companies with a certain percentage of foreign ownership from directly contributing to candidates.

To his credit Sen. Chris Lee made himself adaptable to the bill, working with members to get a solid piece of legislation. It made it to crossover where the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee led by Rep. David Tarnas passed it over to the House Finance Committee where — you guessed it right — Kyle Yamashita laid it to rest without even giving it a hearing.

Again, this bill had no appropriation, yet the chair of the committee couldn’t be bothered.

Sharing The Blame

It seems like this is a lot of blame to place squarely on Kyle Yamashita. I would agree to a point. However, this is the bed that leadership made and must now lie in it.

Advocates have literally begged for bills that have no appropriation to stop going to House Finance. We have begged for chairs to stop having the power to unilaterally kill a bill.

Leadership did what I’m seeing as a pattern of “smile on our faces, nod and agree, remind us that relationships are important,” and then do absolutely nothing.

This appeal for relationships is simple manipulation at this point. What good is a relationship if you will only appease, deflect, and victimize yourself in the end?

Having a good relationship means that you can talk directly and straight to a person. It does not mean you always agree.

In my tenure at Common Cause, the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee chair and I have had many intense conversations. One thing I respect, and why I classify my relationship as good with the chair, is that the chair isn’t afraid to give me news or feedback that I may not agree with. You can’t do anything but respect that.

But how do you respect a leader who for two years hasn’t even taken a meeting with you, yet has met with many special interest groups, Kyle Yamashita?

The minority party isn’t absolved from this at all. After Election Day there was a lot of grandstanding from certain conservative members about the need to expand in-person voting.

Common Cause was very encouraged by this. We have held the position that mail-in voting can enhance voting but it cannot replace day-of, in-person voting. While voting is a county issue there are many things the state legislator can do to aid the counties in expanding.

Picture me surprised that not one bill of consequence to address this issue moved forward. Would one be wrong to wonder why Republican Rep. Diamond Garcia for all his grandstanding never found a way to address this issue in a meaningful way?

This may get me in trouble, but it must be said: The Good Government Caucus was wildly unorganized and came across as messy for the sake of mess several times this session. It increased tensions within the chamber.

What was the good or benefit in handling that situation that way? I also can’t think of any legislation the caucus can hang their hat on as having passed.

At the end of the day Common Cause is not interested in relationships for the sake of relationships. We are interested in relationships that produce positive outcomes for all in the state regardless of party. We will not stop pushing and we will not stop calling out the inconsistencies that we have seen.

These rebukes of the Legislature and specifically the House are not personal. They’re grounded in literal data of introduced and failed bills.

It doesn’t mean these aren’t wonderful people to eat with or talk story with, but when it comes to good government, where is the work product?

Dear lawmakers: We see you. Deliver for the people — period.